1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a method and system for image processing and in particular to a method and system for simulating hair styles. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for automatically fitting a hair image selected by a user to a facial image of the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, when people desire to get their hair styled, they specify a hair style at a hair salon or other beauty facility and request that a hair stylist to cut their hair in the desired style. However, some people want to verify whether various hair styles complement their facial features before the hair stylist starts to cut their hair. In such cases, a simulation of various hair styles is helpful.
Although a simulation system for hair styles is currently available, a user is required to manipulate the simulation system to fit various predetermined hair style images to an image of the customer""s face. That is, an image of the customer""s face and various hair styles are fitted to each other in accordance with the following steps: First, using photo retouch software, the user manually scales, rotates, and translates a hair image to align the hair image with an image of the customer""s face. Then, utilizing a painting tool, the user finishes the simulation by filling in gaps around the face or neck and deleting hairs that overlap with the facial image. One example of fitting hair images to a facial image utilizing this manual operation is found in Japanese PUPA 62-161308.
Although the manual method for fitting hair images to facial images provides satisfactory results, particularly in the finishing of images, the time required to align and finish an image is between 20 and 30 minutes and is therefore inappropriate in view of the typical waiting time in a beauty shop. In practice, assuming that the waiting time in a beauty shop is about 10 minutes and that several hair styles may be simulated, the hair imaging simulation must be finished in about one minute per hair style. Thus, it should be apparent that even one hair style cannot be simulated by conventional hair style simulation systems during a typical waiting time in a beauty shop. Furthermore, the manual operations required in a conventional simulation system entail complicated manipulations of images and may therefore be difficult for some users to perform.
Another hair style simulation system is disclosed in Japanese PUPA 5-189542. In this simulation system a hair image is obtained by creating a 3-dimensional model of a hair style, performing a modification operation that accounts for the effects of external forces, such as wind and gravity, and finally rendering a picture of the hair style. However, this simulation system is ineffective due to the data volume required for modeling the hair style, the processing time required, and the lack of realism in the resulting images.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and system for simulating hair styles which automatically fit an image of a selected hair style to a facial image.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved method and system for image processing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an efficient method and system for simulating hair styles.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an easily operable hair style simulation system which automatically fits an
The foregoing objects are achieved as is now described. A method and image processing system are disclosed which simulate a hair style selected from among a number of prestored hair images in association with a facial image. The selected hair image includes an interior perimeter to be positioned adjacent to the facial image and a first plurality of associated feature points distributed along the interior perimeter of the hair image. A subset of the first plurality of feature points are disposed at locations at which the hair image is intended to abut, but not substantially overlap the facial image. The size and orientation of the selected hair image are automatically corrected with respect to the facial image. A second plurality of feature points distributed along the facial perimeter are then determined, which each correspond to one of the subset of feature points. One or more facial perimeter vectors are constructed by connecting neighboring feature points within the second plurality of feature points. Similarly, one or more hair perimeter vectors are constructed by connecting neighboring feature points within the subset of feature points. The hair image is automatically transformed by displaying each of a plurality of pixels within the hair image at a transformed location with respect to the facial perimeter vectors determined from an original position of the pixel with respect to the hair perimeter vectors. In response to the transformation of the hair image, the transformed hair image is displayed superimposed on the facial image.
The above as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.